Sexual Assault

In December 2012, two UNC female victims of sexual assault spoke up about what they said was a deeply rooted problem with the University’s handling of sexual misconduct — one that they said was inappropriate, time-consuming and traumatic.
Those allegations drove three current students, one former student and one former administrator to file a complaint against the University with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, alleging that UNC facilitated a hostile environment for victims reporting sexual assault.

To help bring the University into compliance with the Department of Education’s “Dear Colleague” letter, the University has also hired Ew Quimbaya-Winship to serve as UNC’s Deputy Title IX Officer, or student complaint coordinator, starting March 11, 2013.

The University's Sexual Assault Task Force convenes for the first time in May 2013 to address changing the University's misconduct policies related to sexual assault.

“The tears, sadness, pain, guilt, frustrations, depression, anxiety, sleepless nights — it was all so worth it in that moment,” Lemke said. “Being courageous and coming out with my story was so tough for many different reasons that many others didn’t really have to worry about since I was a current MSU athlete at the time.”
Read about Lindsey Lemke's journey through the corruption of the gymnastics world, from Michigan to Chapel Hill to a courtroom testifying against Larry Nassar.

With U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos wanting to change the nature of Title IX to protect the rights of the accused, universities, including UNC, are forced to consider implications for their own investigations in sexual assault and rape on campus.

“That generally, this whole Title IX apparatus is predominantly conducted in secret, which in my view makes it all more important that we find out who has been punished as a result of these proceedings,” DTH legal counsel Hugh Stevens told the court in March.

An anonymous UNC graduate shared her harrowing story of being in an abusive relationship that ended with her diagnosis with an incurable STI.
The idea of full disclosure when it comes to STDs is not always an easy subject to bring up to a new partner, especially if open communication isn't strong. But the reality is that the law can be applied in certain scenarios when STI cases are not reported. That's why UNC and other agencies in Chapel Hill are advertising resources so students can know the facts and avoid getting hurt, both emotionally and physically.

In the midst of the #MeToo movement, UNC system schools convened to talk about a standard for resolving issues related to sexual harassment. But with so many schools involved in the discussion, coming to a general consensus proved an issue that will take further delegation.